A Fence Around Every Tree
by Paranoid Seat
Summary: Draco has his work cut out to find his girlfriend, who is mysteriously feline... DMGW
1. Just A Cat

Story: Read it and see.

Timeline: Some time in the not too distant future, say about six years after Hogwarts.

Disclaimer: Wish they were, I really do.  
  
Ginny stretched lazily underneath the covers of her bed. _Mmm, Saturday..._ She didn't want to get up yet, but judging by the silence in the room, her boyfriend was already out of bed, and would probably think her lazy if she stayed in bed too long. She reached up to push the covers down from over her head, but just found more covers. In fact, they seemed to be never- ending; just miles and miles of sheets all around her. She opened her eyes slowly, and saw pastel-blue fabric in front of her. She could see daylight through the material, and assumed that Draco had already opened the curtains, therefore he wouldn't still be in bed. Ginny struggled to the top edge of the blanket - she didn't remember her bed being this big! - and peeked her head out. She had expected her red curly hair to flop down over her eyes as usual, but her vision was oddly non-obscured. She put a hand up to her head to check that her hair was still there, and felt short hair there instead of long. It felt really strange, not only because her hair was short, but because her hands felt weird too. She brought one in front of her face, and saw a paw. _Strange,_ she thought sleepily. _I didn't know we had a cat._

She tried to get up, and found that she just got more tangled in the sheets. She eventually managed to scramble out, and when she attempted to stand up, she fell out of the bed. Strangely, she landed on her feet. Even more strangely, the bed was at least a foot above her head. Ginny stared down at paws. _Her_ paws. Suddenly wide awake, she bounded over to the floor- length mirror and gazed at her reflection in astonishment. She was a cat!

"I'm in trouble," Ginny said to herself. What she heard was an unfamiliar "mrrrowr" instead of her own voice.

There, in the mirror in front of her, was a small sleek cat. Her fur was the same glinting mix of shades of red as her hair. Her nose were pure black. Her brown eyes were perfectly round, and no matter how deeply she gazed into them, Ginny could not detect any sign of her human self.

_Maybe Draco transfigured me as a joke,_ she wondered. _He might do something like that, but why isn't he here to see my reaction?_ Ginny arched her furred back. _Mmm, that feels good. No wonder cats do it so often._ She flexed her front paws so that each little claw popped out. _Awesome. I may be a cat, but I'm a cat in total working order._

She unconsciously flicked her tail. The movement startled her, and she leaped up and reached round to bat at the silvery tip. _Look at me! I'm a cat chasing my tail! How goofy can I get?_ Ginny giggled. Only she didn't make any sound - just felt a slight shiver through her body. _I never have seen a cat laugh,_ she realised. _I wonder if they have a sense of humour._

Ginny stepped carefully around the room, adjusting to her new four-footed gait. The floor felt spongy under her footpads. She lifted up a front leg. "These are definitely more comfortable than high heels," she told her paw.

All of her senses seemed heightened. Her whiskers tingled with the mingling scents of the pot-pourri on the dresser, the furniture polish she used on some of the woodwork in the room, and the coffee in the mug on the table next to the bed. She jumped up to the bed again, poked her head over the edge of the coffee mug, and immediately pulled it back out again. Her favourite addiction - caffeine - didn't seem at all enticing now that she was a cat. _Now **that's** a transformation! Me not liking coffee?_

_Ooh, but that dust bunny looks like fun._ Ginny the cat crouched low, then pounced. The dust bunny swirled out of reach, but Ginny didn't care. The thrill was in the chase, the hunt. She was about to pounce again when the warm patch of light streaming through the window made her flop over. _Mmm._ She rolled around, feeling the warming rays heat her fur. The floor was nice and cosy underneath her. Every muscle felt yummy in the square patch of sun.

A soft breeze from the window sent the dust bunny skittering past her again, but now that she was all comfy in her sun patch, Ginny the cat just blinked sleepily at it. She yawned. _Live and let live,_ she thought. _After all, what did that dust bunny ever do to me? And besides, sooo comfy..._

A strange rumbling sound brought her to her feet. _What was that?_ It stopped as suddenly as it had started. _As a matter of fact,_ she realised, _it stopped as soon as I got nervous._ Then it dawned on her... _Could that have been me? Purring?_ She was glad Draco hadn't been there to see her scaring herself.

_And,_ she thought as she stretched her front legs up and dug her claws into the upholstered chair in the corner, _I'm glad he's not here to see me do this, either!_ She worked her sharp claws in and out of the fabric, enjoying the stretch.

A window downstairs banged shut. Ginny's hearing was enhanced in this form, and she could hear Draco reading the news to himself from the Daily Prophet. She padded to the door and managed after a minute or so to paw it open. If it had been closed properly she would have been stuck in her bedroom until Draco came up.

Ginny crept downstairs. She'd never noticed before how far apart the steps were. Of course, her legs were a lot shorter now that she had four of them. The good news was that paws were much quieter to sneak around on than high heels. She glided silently into the kitchen and sneaked up to her newspaper- reading boyfriend, before twisting herself round his ankles. Of course, Draco chose that moment to put down the newspaper and head for the fridge. He tripped over her and stumbled to the floor, then jumped up quickly and whipped out his wand.

"Okay, I know you're here," he said loudly, pointing his wand at random places in the kitchen. "If you're invisible, I know a counter-jinx," he warned threateningly.

"Draco, it's only me," she assured him. Draco's eyes landed on Ginny. A confused smile spread across his face. "See? Just me down here."

Draco put his wand away and scooped Ginny into his arms. "Hello kitty. How'd you get into the house?"

_Oh no._ Ginny had assumed that Draco, being the main suspect for turning her into a cat, would know her in an instant. She hadn't counted on being mistaken for a real cat. Now she had the dilemma of getting Draco to understand the situation. Plus, she also had to work out who **had** turned her into a cat, if it wasn't Draco.

"Ginny!" he started to call up the stairs, but then he stopped quickly. "No, she's probably still asleep," he told Ginny the cat. "Not that she's lazy or anything, but she's had a hard week." He smiled at her. "You are an adorable little thing, aren't you?"

"Well I should be, I'm your girlfriend!" she meowled indignantly.

"Who do you belong to?" She just looked him in the eye, hoping for him to somehow know it was her, but there was no recognition in his face. Draco checked for a collar, and on finding she didn't have one, said "Just a stray, huh?"

"I am not a stray! I'm not even a cat!"

"I'd better get you down to the pet shelter. I'd bring Ginny, but knowing her, we'd probably come back home with three more cats."

"Hey!"

"Well, I haven't got all day, let's go," he announced, pulled his wand out of his pocket again, and disapparated.


	2. New Family

Disclaimer: JK's stuff ain't mine, and I don't own Disney. The Lucado family and Bagheera are in fact mine, all mine! Mwahahaha! … Ahem.

Ginny the cat prowled anxiously around her three foot square enclosure and meowled angrily. The shabby-looking tabby cat in the next cage was blinking at her sleepily, and she could see (and hear) a yowling Siamese in the one behind that.

I don't believe this. My own boyfriend gave me to an animal shelter as a stray! She scratched behind her ear impatiently. _He is **so** gonna pay for this._

The door to the shelter opened, and she heard the jingle of a bell above the door as people entered. Kids chattered excitedly and flustered parents attempted unsuccessfully to calm them down as they clattered towards the desk, where she could see them through the open door. Two adults in their mid-twenties were accompanied by three noisy seven-year-old boys and one shy little four-year-old girl. They talked to the clerk at the desk for a couple of minutes, then she led them through to see the pets. The children pointed excitedly at a dog at the other end of the room, but the parents were vehemently against this, and kept insisting on a cat. The three boys, who on closer inspection proved to be identical triplets, were wiggling their fingers through the holes in the wire mesh of the tabby next to her. The little girl, holding a teddy and sucking her thumb, toddled along to her cage and peered at her curiously. Ginny stared back at her, very bored by now. The little girl took her thumb out of her mouth and banged her chubby little fist on the wire mesh of her cage. Ginny started and shot to the the back of the enclosure as the girl's parents noticed her enthusiasm. They cooed at Ginny for a moment or two, then started talking.

"She looks like a nice friendly type of cat," she heard the man say. "She'd make a nice companion for Baggie, and we might end up with kittens if they get on."

"I've always wanted a litter of kittens in the house," his wife replied.

"No! Leave me here, take the tabby!" she said, panicking, but they couldn't understand her. "Or the Siamese? Just don't pick me, I'm waiting for my boyfriend to realise I'm me!" she meowed angrily.

The clerk talked with the parents for a minute or so, the father handed over a couple of galleons, and the clerk opened the door to the cage. Before Ginny knew it, she had been transferred to a cramped red cat-carrier and the family had shoved her in the back-seat of a car.

She shifted uncomfortably in the small plastic space and meowled angrily. One of the triplets stuck a finger through a hole in the plastic grid and waggled it up and down.

Ginny nipped the fingertip, feeling very annoyed. The boy yelped and withdrew his finger.

"Mummy, the cat bit me!"

"Well don't annoy her then," his mother told him.

When they got to the family's house, Ginny was tipped unceremoniously from the cat-carrier into a kitty-litter tray by one of the triplets. She looked down at her new toilet and back up at the child.

"I am house-trained, you know!" The boy just patted her on the head and ran into the kitchen. Ginny stepped out of the tray, shaking kitty-litter from her paws. She stalked through to the living room and looked around. She took in the rich red walls, cream leather sofa and chairs, red-brick fireplace and ochre-coloured carpet, and then heard another voice, which didn't sound like either the parents' or the kids' voices.

"Hi there."

She turned around to see a jet-black cat sitting just behind her. "Hi."

"You're new."

"Uh, yeah." _Duh, of course._

"Where'd they get you from? Pet shop?"

"Animal shelter."

"Cool." The other cat scratched behind his ear.

"Who are you?" she asked, when he showed no sign of saying anything else.

"Name's Samson, but the adults named me Bagheera," he told her. He said this as though it was classified information, but in a very sophisticated-sounding voice.

"The adults said you were called Baggie," Ginny said.

The other cat flinched. "The kids only call me that because they can't say my name properly. What's your name?"

"Ginny."

"Cool. Wonder what they've called you." Bagheera got up and stalked away into another room. _Probably thinks he's playing hard to get,_ Ginny thought. _Stupid git. What were those adults thinking? Kittens? With him? Never. Hopefully I won't be a cat long enough for him to even try, and if he does, I'll scratch his nose off!_

Ginny held up a paw and licked it, before strolling over and jumping onto the couch.

"Bad kitty!" The little girl had just come into the room, dressed in a mini pink cotton dress with matching play-shoes and pink ribbons in her curly baby-blonde hair, and dragging a comfort blanket behind her. "No kitties on da couch!" She picked Ginny up roughly and dumped her on the floor. Ginny hissed and ran away from her, only to be picked up again by one of the triplets.

"Hello Ginger," he said softly, scratching her between the ears. _Ginger? Well, not too far from Ginny, that's a good thing._ "I'm Rupert. You're gonna be friends with Abbie, okay? Don't be nasty to her, she's only a little girl." Ginny wriggled until Rupert put her down. "Do you wanna see Alexander and James? They're in the kitchen."

"No, I don't want to see your brothers, I want to go home!" Ginny told him, but he smiled and went into the kitchen. He picked up his sandwich and the triplets ate side by side. It was a little creepy, because they were dressed in exactly the same clothes; blue corduroy dungarees and white t-shirts, with the same blonde hair and blue canvas shoes as well. Ginny was used to twins, but triplets added another identical person into the mix, and it was fairly strange seeing the synchronicity they seemed to do unconsciously. She cocked her head as she stared at them, then she noticed two plastic bowls sitting next to the washing machine. One was full of water, the other was full of some kind of light brown meaty chunks. She crept over cautiously and sniffed the second bowl. It did smell good to her cat senses, but her human self was recoiling in disgust.

Cat food? Someone help me! I am not going to eat that, it's disgusting. She sniffed the second bowl, then drank some of the water. It abated her thirst, and she was also a little intrigued as to how her tongue managed to lap up so much water in one go.

"Mummy, I don't think Ginger likes the cat food," said one of the triplets. She noticed that they each had shiny button-badges clipped to their dungarees, each showing the child's name. They were similar in design to the ones Draco and his friends used to manufacture as a way of putting Harry down before a Quidditch match, or that Triwizard tournament. Luckily, the two were friends now, but she couldn't say the same for Draco and her brother.

The boy who had spoken was Alexander, and all three boys finished the last bite of their sandwiches at the same time, then drank their milk in synchronised motions, which was even more creepy.

"Well, it's the only kind we've got, so she'll have to eat it," his mother replied.

"But I don't want it!" Ginny complained. "It's gross and disgusting! I want pasta. Or chips. I'm a vegetarian for goodness sake!"

"It's the only kind we've got, Ginger," James repeated solemnly.

"I'm a **vegetarian**!" she growled angrily. "And have been for **eight years**! Give me something I can **eat**!"

"She's not very happy, Mummy," said Rupert.

"I know, dear."

"Maybe she misses the animal shelter?" suggested Alexander.

"Maybe, honey."

Ginny stalked angrily out of the room, and viciously attacked a bright orange scratching post in the corner of the hall.

"Fun isn't it?" Ginny caught a glimpse of Bagheera from the corner of her eye, ignored him, and kept on scratching. "Mr and Mrs got it last week."

"Mr and Mrs?"

"The kids' parents." Ginny had seen _Lady and the Tramp_ before, due to her friends' ties with the Muggle world, and Bagheera's names for the adults sounded a lot like the dog's names for her owners in the film; 'Jim Dear and Darling'. Plus, Bagheera's name was straight out of _The Jungle Book_. She wondered if this family was possibly part Muggle. By the strange plain way the mother dressed, she suspected she was the Muggle, and the father, with his normal flowing cloaky-type clothes, was the wizard. There was a television in the living room with a cabinet full of Disney videos next to it, but she could also see a broomstick propped next to the doorway and a pot of Floo Powder sitting on the mantel of the fireplace. _Yep, definitely a Muggle-wizard house._

"What's their surname?" she asked.

"Surname?"

"Yeah, their last name." Bagheera looked confused, so Ginny attempted to explain. "You know, the name that comes after their first name. What's your second name?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Oh, look, it's Mr with your new collar," he announced.

"Hey Baggie," he said absent-mindedly as the cat trotted past him. Ginny noticed that Bagheera already had a collar; a pale blue one with a fish-shaped name tag hanging from it. It stood out quite plainly against his black fur. Ginny ran over to the door to look at an envelope that was lying on the mat. It was handwritten in loopy letters, addressed to a Max Lucado. That must be the father. Max picked up the envelope. "Thankyou Ginger," he said with a smile. "You're going to be our little letter-getter, are you?" He was blonde, like his kids, and had the same blue eyes as the triplets.

"Fat chance," Ginny told him.

"Well, good." _Stupid man, thinks he understands what I'm saying..._ "Melody, I got a letter from my sister!" he called up the stairs.

"Great," came the mother's voice from upstairs.

Max and Melody Lucado. Those are okay names, I guess. She tried out the kids names with their last name in her head, and they sounded okay. _But Bagheera Lucado? Does the surname apply to pets? And Ginger Lucado. Just sounds plain weird._

Max read the letter quickly, smiling, then folded it up and put it back in the envelope. He tucked it behind a picture-frame, and knelt down next to Ginny.

"I've got a new collar for you, Ginger," he said, as if it was a huge event. "It's red, look." Ginny looked. It was bright red, with a name-tag shaped like a cat's head, but it wasn't engraved yet. There was also a small silver bell attached to the collar. Max fastened the collar around Ginny's neck, and she moved her head about to make it sit comfortably. "There you go!"

"Ooh, wow, a collar. Big whoop."

"I'm glad you like it."

Maybe if I say positive stuff, they'll think I'm being negative... she wondered, as the family seemed to be interpreting her every word as the opposite. She scratched at the collar and the bell jingled. _Bagheera doesn't have a bell,_ she thought sulkily. _How come I have to have my presence announced? It would be a lot more practical on him. Warn me of any unwanted advances._

"Okay, now I'm hungry," she decided. "But what to eat? I could scrounge for table scraps, but the triplets finished their sandwiches already. I'll go see what else there is to eat."

"Why not just eat the cat food?" Bagheera asked. It was annoying when he just popped up like that, it was becoming a habit.

"I'm a vegetarian."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I don't eat meat."

Bagheera made a noise that sounded like the cat-equivalent of a gasp. "You mean you don't like cat food?" Ginny shook her head. "They just got us wet cat food too, it's better than the dry stuff. So you don't like mice?" Ginny shook her head again. "Not even birds?"

"Ew, no." She shuddered slightly. "I don't like eating animals."

"You're a very strange cat."

"I'm not a cat!"

"Yes you are."

"No, I'm not. I'm a person."

"Well, you look like a cat, and that's enough for me." He nuzzled her nose and rubbed the side of his face against hers.

"Get off," she snapped irritably, stepping back and running into the other room, jingling as she ran. _Stupid cat, thinks he can mate outside his species, egotistic feline maniac -_

Her inner rant was cut off by the little girl, Abbie, bending down and picking her up again.

"Get off me you stupid girl!" _I must not bite the child, I must not bite the child, I must not bite the child,_ she repeated to herself to keep control.

"Kitty has to eat her dinna," Abbie announced loudly, and plonked Ginny down in front of her food bowl. Ginny looked at the cat food again, then up at Abbie, whose curly blonde hair was falling over her face. In other circumstances, Ginny would have found the little girl cute, but now she was just plain irritated with everyone.

She ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs, colliding with Melody Lucado in the upstairs hall.

"Hey there, Ginger, why are you in such a hurry?"

"It's Ginny! And because your kids are driving me crazy!"

"Hey, poor thing," she crooned, picking her up. She had darker hair, but curly like her daughter's. "No need to fuss. I know Abbie can be a little rough with you cats, but she doesn't mean any harm."

"Hmm. Did you just understand what I was saying?" Her reply had been eerily close to her original complaint.

"And the triplets are naturally noisy, so you just have to shut your little kitty ears and try to ignore them," Melody continued.

"Nope, guess not. At least you're not pretending to understand what I'm saying."

"Now, have you chosen your bed yet? You can share a bed with anyone you want. Baggie sleeps at the bottom of Abbie's bed, so maybe you want to sleep there, hm?"

"No! I am not sleeping anywhere near that stupid cat!"

"Okay, I take it from your protestation that you don't like Baggie very much," she said, chuckling. "Shame, I wanted kittens." _This is possibly the broodiest mother in the entire world. She already had to take care of three babies at once, and now she wants kittens in the house?_ "So where are you going to sleep? You probably won't want to sleep with any of the triplets, they normally kick about in the night. You wanna sleep in our bed?"

She nodded at Melody.

"Hey, did you just nod? You're a very clever cat, aren't you? Okay, you can sleep at the foot of our bed."

"Good. At least I'll be away from Bagheera."

"You must be part Siamese, I've never known any other kind of cat to be so talkative," Melody said. "Now, where's my watch?" She put Ginny down on the floor, and went back into her bedroom. Ginny followed her, and immediately spied the watch underneath the dresser, hidden from the woman's sight. She wriggled underneath and pulled it out.

"Here you go," she said past the watch strap between her teeth.

"Hey, you found it!" Melody said. "Where was it?" Ginny went back to the dresser and pawed at the area beneath it. "Wow, you really are clever. You're even answering questions."

Ginny liked Melody, she seemed to treat her like a friend, even though she was new. _Then again, I am a cat,_ she reminded herself. _But it's almost like she understands what I say. But she doesn't. It's way too confusing. Maybe I can work out a way to tell her I'm really human. I'll work that out later... when I'm not so incredibly sleepy..._

She sprang up onto the bed, which was higher than her own, and settled into the soft white sheets, yawning a little.

"Sleepy already, huh?" _It's strange that I'm allowed on the bed but not on the couch._ "Well you just nap there, I'll tell the kids not to wake you up." She scratched Ginny behind the ears, which made her purr involuntarily, and then she left the room.


	3. I Know

Disclaimer: Not mine, and you know it.

Draco paced anxiously, thinking. His girlfriend was a cat. He was **so **gonna pay for this... Okay, that would be fine if she were here. But she wasn't, and the pet shelter didn't have the address of the family who had adopted her. Maybe it was time for desperate measures. And Draco only knew one person who coud do a Tracking Spell...

---

Draco's index finger hovered over the doorbell next to the gleaming white door. He took a deep breath and moved it forwards. Somehow, his finger ended up further from the bell. He attempted again, and this time managed to push the small, round, ivory button. A loud knocking noise sounded, which startled Draco. It had definitely been a bell noise before, he was sure of it. Probably one of the twins' weird inventions.

Just before the door opened, Draco's feet were urging him to run, but he forced himself to stay, at least until the occupant of Number 27 slammed the door in his face.

"Oh, hey Draco. What's up?"

Harry Potter stood in the doorway, eating a cookie. Draco nearly sighed with relief.

"Oh good, it's you. Hi Harry."

"Why is it so great that I answered the door?"

"If it was Ron, he'd probably have slammed the door in my face," Draco told him.

"Well, he has reason to. You did accidentally nullify his NEWT results."

"I know."

"And you did accidentally break his leg."

"I know."

"And you are dating his little sister."

"I know. Ginny's actually the reason I came. Can I come in?"

"Sure." Harry stepped aside and let Draco past, then shut the door after him.

"I need to ask Hermione a favour," he told Harry."

"Dunno how she'll feel about that," Harry said, shaking his head. "You did accidentally singe all her hair off."

"I know."

"And you did accidentally cut her cat's tail in two."

"I know."

"And you are dating her husband's little sister."

"You covered that one already."

"I know." Harry took another bite of his cookie.

"Harry?" Hermione called from the kitchen. "Who's at the door?"

"Just Draco," he replied offhandedly.

The bustling sound from the kitchen stopped abruptly, and a chair was pushed back loudly. A ginger-haired, bowlegged cat with a squashed face stalked into the hall, took one look at Draco, hissed loudly, and fled from the room with half a bottle-brush tail held high.

Ron Weasley came into the hall with a face like thunder.

"What did I tell you, Malfoy? You are not welcome in this house."

"Hey Draco, you wanna cookie?"

"Harry!" Ron whined. "I'm trying to make him leave! You're not helping."

Harry shrugged and went to get another cookie.

"Ron. Hi... I would've asked for this in the fire, but I figured you would have just put out the fire. Plus, I'm out of Floo Powder, can't do the head trick." Ron tapped his foot impatiently. "Point, right, yes. I have a point. It's about Ginny."

"What about Ginny?" Ron's voice sounded dangerous now.

"Well, she's a cat." He looked at Draco as if to say 'so what? turn her back'. "And I didn't know it was her so I gave her to the pet shelter and someone adopted her and now I don't know where she is." Ron bristled angrily. "So I need Hermione to do a Tracking Spell so I can find her and turn her back."

"Let me get this straight. You gave away ... my little sister?"

"Yes. Please don't hurt me. I came un-armed."

"No you didn't," Harry said, munching on another cookie. "You had to use your wand to apparate here."

"Well," Draco said, taking out his wand and handing it to Harry, "I don't have it now."

"Hey, 'Mione? I think I may have picked up the wrong cookie." Harry's nose was bleeding, and he put Draco's wand down on a table so it didn't get covered in blood. Hermione walked briskly into the hallway, with a tissue and a sour expression.

"Yes, George said there was a risk of them getting muddled up," she fussed, wiping blood off Harry's chin with the tissue and handing him the antidote cookie. "You probably got the one with bits of Nosebleed Nougat in it."

"Hermione, I think I can wipe my own nose, thankyou very much."

Hermione gave Harry the tissue for him to mop up the blood with, then looked over to the door.

"Draco," she said with forced civility.

"Hey ... Hermione. Hey, how are you on your Tracking Spells? I bet you're still the best in the class."

"Only because the rest of the class couldn't do it. And flattery on my spellwork will get you nowhere."

"Your hair looks great too, have you been using -"

"Neither will it work on my hair," she retorted. She looked like Madam Hooch, with her hair all short, ruffled and sticky-up. "Why do you need a Tracking Spell, anyway?"

"Ginny's a cat, he gave her away, she got adopted and now he can't find her," Ron said with an accusing look at Draco, before leaving the hall.

Hermione gave him a similar look, shook her head and sighed.

"Honestly."

---

"So how did you work out that the cat was Ginny?" Hermione asked, arms folded in an unconsciously hostile manner.

"She wasn't in her room, I hadn't heard her leave, the bed had definitely been slept in by something smaller than Ginny, and there were cat hairs on the bedcovers and the floor. Red ones."

"Right. Well, that's the logical conclusion." Hermione thought for a minute, her head in her hands.

Harry offered the plate of cookies to Draco, who shook his head with a fond smile. He still could hardly believe how much they had both changed since school. It was years ago now, they were all in their twenties, and Harry still wasn't the same. Draco was glad that it wasn't this change that had brought about their unlikely friendship. Harry and he had been friends since before that happened. Not long before, but still before.

Near the end of their seventh year, You-Know-Who had attacked the school, and had been defeated by the Potter Squad, which Draco had taken to calling them in sixth year, but had since stopped. Unfortunately, in the course of events, Harry had been hit with the Cruciatus curse so many times that his mind had become a little addled. Not as much as Longbottom's parents had been, but enough to alter his personality slightly. He was prone to giggling fits at random and often inappropriate moments, and his mind tended to wander. He behaved like a child in a grown-up's body, to the extent that he couldn't really live on his own. He was still Harry, the same Harry everyone knew and loved, but he was a little strange sometimes. At least he had kept his sense of humour.

Actually, the main reason he was never unhappy was that most of his memories from before the battle were gone. He couldn't remember Sirius, or his parents. All the unhappy memories were gone. Otherwise, he had a similar personality, just much cheerier, but all unpleasant memories were gone. He managed to retain memories of his friendships, because they were so important to him, and luckily, he had also kept the memories of the cease-fire between himself and Draco.

Their friendship had sprung up as a result of Draco's actions, and he wasn't ashamed to admit it. If he didn't explain that it was due to him, everyone who knew them assumed that Harry had decided to put differences aside and fight the good fight together. No, it had been Draco. Nobody ever suspected it, and most didn't even believe it.

Draco had attended a meeting of Dumbledore's Army.

Not in disguise, not trying to spy for Professor Snape; he attended to see what they were doing, why they were doing it, and to see if he could join.

The absence of a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in their last year prompted him to attend, to keep his defence spellwork up to scratch. Crabbe and Goyle, whom he no longer associated with (he had only used them as henchmen, bodyguards if you will, and now that his friends had brains bigger than tangerines, he had no further need for them), were useless at spells, even though their fathers were Deatheaters, so they were no good.

Speaking of Deatheater fathers, Draco's father had been killed in the battle, and to tell the truth, Draco didn't care.

To get back to the point, Harry had listened to his sincere request to join and thought about it. He had eventually believed that Draco wanted an end to the bitching between Harry, and let him into Dumbledore's Army. The absence of large purple spots spelling 'sneak' on Draco's face convinced Harry of his sincerity, and they had been uneasy allies up until the battle, when Draco had blocked a killing curse aimed at Longbottom, and saved his life. He hadn't blocked it specifically to save Longbottom, but to save whoever it might have hit if it had been allowed to continue on its course. He hadn't actually seen the boy behind him when he blocked it. Either way, he and Harry had become friends because of this.

Ron and Hermione, however, had different views. Exam results, leg bones, hair, cat tails; they all played a part in the happy couple's general dislike, distaste and distrust of him. They had married two years ago and he had not been invited. Not that he had wanted to go, of course. They did appreciate what he did for Longbottom, but they still didn't like him. Some of the time they didn't like him because of the past, which Draco thought they might at least have forgiven him for by now, but most of the time they didn't like him because of Ginny.

They had started dating after school, not long after Harry had explained to her the reason that Longbottom wasn't dead. Maybe a week or so after, Draco wasn't sure. He had missed her a lot when she was in her seventh year, but as soon as she finished school, they started going out seriously. He had liked her since about fourth year, he was sure about that, but he had never been able to ask her out because of all the brothers she had who would have loved to have an excuse to break his nose. Plus there was the fact that he was certain she hated him from the word go. It turned out that he was wrong. Ginny had only hated his reputation, and therefore had never talked to him except to reply to an insult. Her attitude had changed in the aftermath of the battle, though, due to his good deed.

Draco was very pleased that he had decided to be on the good side, as it meant he didn't have to think up new insults all the time, and he was able to get along with one of the most influential people in the Ministry (now under new management). Even though Harry could seem immature to an onlooker, he still retained his intelligence and talents, and could debate a subject as well as any other Ministry worker, which he did, frequently, and was often funnier than most of the stuffy old guys with whom he debated.

Also, being on the good side enabled him to say Ginny was hot without being hexed (most of the time). That was another good point. Ginny had blossomed from her awkward skinny teenage self into a beautiful young woman. Draco often had to pinch himself just to make sure he wasn't dreaming, that she really was living with him, that they really were going out. And to think he had grown out of the habit of telling her everyday, letting her know how much she meant to him, just appreciating her presence in his life.

Now she was a cat, and he was worried sick. How could he not have recognised her? She was going to be so mad at him when he found her...

"If you have something of hers that she had shortly before she was changed into a cat, I should be able to do a Tracking Spell to find her," said Hermione, lifting her head from her hands, looking stressed already.

"Yeah, her pyjamas were still in the bed when I went up to look for her."

Ron's face had tightened at the mention of Draco and Ginny living together, something he had been against from the very beginning.

"Do you know how she was turned into a cat? It would make more sense to get both spells worked out before we find her, so we can change her back as soon as possible."

"I have no idea. She hasn't been studying to become an Animagus, and even if she had she would have turned back to herself when I mistook her for an actual cat. It seems she just woke up as a cat and came down the stairs to find me."

Ron was still gritting his teeth, holding back on voicing his disapproval.

"Did you go anywhere the night before?" Hermione asked.

"We went to a club, had a few drinks, that was about it."

"What was it called?"

"Um, something French ... D'Oblique."

"There's your problem, then. Did you read this morning's paper? There have been several reports of people waking up as animals, and they all went to the same club the night before, D'Oblique. The reporter reckons there's either something in the water there, or someone went round spiking drinks for a laugh. That's most likely what happened to Ginny."

"Idiot," Ron muttered.

"Hey, it wasn't my fault!" Draco retorted.

"Why weren't you watching her drink? That's what you're supposed to do! You are her - her boyfriend -" He spat the word out as if it were a particularly foul-tasting EveryFlavour Bean, "- after all! You're meant to take care of her! You promised me, Malfoy!" He ended on a raised note, almost shouting.

Draco didn't say anything. He _had_ promised. He examined one nail, normally near-perfect, today chewed down from worry. He felt really stupid. He had promised the Weasleys that he would take care of Ginny, and what had he done? Lost her. Worse than that, he'd given her away!

"Draco?" Harry said after a minute.

Draco looked up. "Yeah?"

"We'll find her."

Draco smiled gratefully.


	4. It's Not So Bad

A/N: Sorry this one's a bit short, but if I put it with the next chapter it would make it too long.

Disclaimer: I don't own the HP characters, I don't own fruit, cat food, letter magnets, Menorca, Sicily or Milton Keynes. I do, however, own the Lucado family, plus Bagheera.

Draco had better work out I'm me soon, or I will hunt him down and scratch out his eyes, Ginny thought, stalking up and down the hall angrily. She had been counting the hours since she had arrived in the home of the maniac cat, and they totalled eleven. _I am so totally sick of Bagheera. And Abbie. _Three times the little girl had tried to carry Ginny through the house, holding her uncomfortably by the stomach until her mother stopped her. Ginny might have thrown up each time if she had actually eaten anything. She was starting to get a hunger headache; she had not eaten since six the previous evening, and it was now... well she couldn't actually see any clocks from her current view-point of a foot from the floor, but it was definitely late at night.

She was starving. The cat-food in the kitchen repulsed her human side, and the fruit that was attainable from the dining room table repulsed her cat side. She was going to have to eat something soon. She weighed up the reasons for not eating. The cat part of her would not eat fruit. Her teeth were too small. Her mouth was the wrong shape for the apples, it was like a small dog trying to pick up a beachball. She couldn't get through the banana peels, and the skins tasted even more horrible to her sharp cat senses. Even as a human, the only way she could eat kiwi fruits was with a spoon, so what chance did she have as a cat? Oranges had the combined problems of apples and bananas. Those were the only fruits in the bowl.

However, the human part of her would not eat meat simply because she was a vegetarian. Maybe she could overcome that, if only to prevent herself starving. She wandered through to the kitchen; the doors were all left open at night for the cats to roam as they pleased, and Ginny was grateful for this.

The food bowls loomed ahead of her like headlamps with no light. Bagheera had eaten some of the food already, but there was still at least a third of the bowl left. Ginny forced herself to stand at the dish and at least smell the food.

It smelt good. She was so hungry, she could have just wolfed the whole lot down in half a minute, but she still found it disgusting. Cold pieces of half-cooked meat in some kind of jelly stuff. _Who thinks up these mixtures?_ she thought. _Bleuch. Looks horrible._

But, I gotta eat it.

Ginny closed her eyes and gingerly picked up a bit of meat between her tiny sharp teeth. She didn't know how she was going to get it past her teeth without gagging, but her cat instincts seemed to take over and somehow she was already chewing it. The meaty mush slid down her throat and she shuddered, hairs standing up all over her body. Standing still for a second or two, she considered the taste in her mouth. _It's not that bad._ She tried another piece. That went down the same way, but it definitely tasted nicer that time. In fact, the more she ate, the more she got used to it, and the nicer it tasted.

She looked down at the empty bowl. Maybe cat food was something she could put up with. At least until Draco found her. Until then, she had to find a way of letting her new owners know who she was.

Ginny looked around, night-vision allowing her to see perfectly around the unlit kitchen. Anything to do with words... a pen and pad maybe. A wand left lying. She looked up at the fridge, several feet above her head, totally unattainable. It was adorned with magnets, many of them souvenirs from such exotic places as Menorca and Sicily and Milton Keynes. The large souvenir magnets were surrounded by smaller magnets of various colours and shapes. Looking closer, Ginny saw that they were letters.

Of course, letter magnets! The one useful thing Muggles came up with! If only I could reach them...


	5. It's Magic

A/N: Sorry people, this is the last instalment. Just think yourselves lucky I've posted all five chapters in just three days! I've been running myself ragged trying to sort out the spacing and the italics and changing the documents into a format FF.net will accept. But thankyou to everyone who reviewed so far, and for all you people who will (hopefully) review once it's finished. Lady Godiva and McCallM.Daneils especially, you're the only people who've posted more than once so far, so I count you two as my devoted fans. :-) Thankyou. Enjoy this, the last - and longest - chapter, because there's no more where this came from.

Disclaimer: sigh Not mine. I own the Lucados and Bagheera. And all the passers-by near the end, but they're anonymous so it doesn't matter.

Ginny woke up in a better mood than she was in the day before. At least, she was in a good mood until a huge hand dragged its way along her neck and down her back. She sprang up, hissing indignantly, to see Max Lucado crouching next to her, wearing a cheesy grin.

"Guess what, Ginger? You get to go to the V-E-T today and get your S-H-O-T-S!"

"Honey, why are you spelling things to the cat?" Melody called from another room.

"Habit, I guess. You say the word ve -- I mean, V-E-T, and they go berserk. I went through the same thing with my dog Barney and his B-A-T-H."

"You're still spelling things. The cats don't care about the word 'bath'. Cats don't have baths, they clean themselves."

Thank Merlin for that.

"Well, I have to spell the V-E-T, otherwise they get a bit freaked out."

Wait, the vet? I have to go the vet?

Ginny dashed from the room, which she realised on her way out was the living room. She had fallen asleep the night before on the rug in front of the empty fireplace.

"Why did she freak out?" she heard Max ask. "I didn't actually say the word."

"Maybe she already associates the spelling with the place, so she hates it. Maybe she can spell. She's a very smart cat, you know."

You bet your dragon-skin gloves I'm a smart cat. Smart enough to know that going to the vet is not a good thing. I go to the doctor, not the vet. Anyhow, I don't need cat-shots. I already got all my people-shots.

Ginny slinked up the stairs quietly, trying to find someplace to hide.

Please come and find me soon, Draco, she thought miserably. _I miss you. I want to be human again._

Finding a bedroom with a bed against the window, she leapt up from floor to bed, from bed to windowsill, and sat there, staring mournfully out at the street. It was a fairly nice street, with trees circled by miniature fences, again like _Lady and the Tramp_. She remembered it quite clearly, unlike most Muggles, who could only remember snatches of it from their early childhood.

"A fence around every tree..." she said sadly. She heard her pathetic mew once again, and frankly, she was starting to get sick of it. It had been fun being a cat at first, until her idiot boyfriend gave her away, and even then it was still a novelty. But now it was just not fun. It was downright frustrating.

She'd been through a lot worse than animal transformation, she'd get through this.

As she stared through the double-glazed window with the blue frame, she watched people on the street. A family with a buggy wandered back to their house across the road. A young couple strolled happily into a nearby park. A kid walking a dog ran by laughing. A group of people holding a road map were knocking on the door of a house next-door-but-one.

Ginny took a second look at that group of people.

It comprised of four; three guys and a girl. They all had thick black coats on, with hoods raised over their heads in the light drizzle that was now interrupting the cool breezy morning. One boy didn't have his hood up, but wore a dark hat instead, shaped like one of those detective hats with the dent in the top. The front boy, the tallest of them all, rapped sharply on the door, almost impatiently. The girl drooped as though tired, and one of the other boys was tossing a stone from one hand to the other while talking to the third boy, who looked alert and anxious.

Ginny peered hard at these people. She was sure she recognised that throwing and catching, the way the boy's hands deftly tossed the smooth pebble from one hand to the other, catching it with lightning-fast reflexes.

She couldn't see a single face due to the hoods and the angle they were all standing at, but she could see the shoes of the boy with the pebble; Muggle trainers that lit up with he took a step.

"Harry!" she yelled excitedly.

The group was turned down by the house they were currently asking at, and they proceeded to the one next-door. In a matter of minutes they would be at this house. As the four of them turned to approach the next house, one of the boys lowered his hood, staring around worriedly. His hair was pale blond, tousled from the hood and from the number of times she saw him run his hands through it before he put his hood back up.

"Draco!" she shouted. "Ron, Hermione! Oh, at last!"

She sprang from the windowsill onto the bed, and down to the floor, and began racing for the door of the bedroom.

Wait. She stopped abruptly. _They'll not be at this house for another minute or so. If I go down now, I'm likely to be taken to the vet, and then Draco will probably never find me. I've got to wait until they're here._

She returned to the windowsill, watching her brother, boyfriend and two best friends finish at the next house, and agitatingly slowly approach her house. As they walked up the garden path, Ginny made her move. She sprang down and shot out of the door and down the stairs like a fiery rocket.

"There you are!" Max Lucado exclaimed, picking her up and bundling her into a bright-red plastic cat-carrier, the same one that had been used to carry her before. "Ok honey, you get Baggie in the car, I'll get Ginger."

Ginny yeowled in frustration. They were right here! They were coming to take her home! Why was this stupid man doing this to her?

The doorbell rang as Melody approached the door, carrying Bagheera in a similar carrier, and she answered it in surprise.

"Can I help you?" she asked, her voice as melodious as her name.

"Hi, do you have cats?"

Melody blinked at him for a moment, trying to work out if this was some sort of survey, and if the man at her door had actually noticed the cat-carrier in her hand yet.

"...Yes, we do. Two of them. Why?"

"Are you sure they're your cats?" Ron asked suspiciously.

"Ron, don't be so rude." Hermione pushed him to the side and spoke to Melody. "Sorry. My friend has lost his cat, and we were told that a family in this area had adopted her."

"Oh. Well, I guess that could be us, we adopted a new cat from the pet-shelter just yesterday." She put down Bagheera's carrier behind the door, next to the coat-stand, and motioned for the visitors to come in. "What does the cat look like?"

"Red. Well, actually ginger. All over," Draco answered. Ginny meowled from her carrier, which was swinging slightly in Max's hand. It was very disconcerting, and she was beginning to feel nauseous.

He set her down and opened the clasp on the carrier. Ginny shot out and leapt up to Draco, who knelt in time to catch her.

"Ginny?" he said cautiously, standing up with her in his arms, as she clung to his cloak with her claws.

"Yes you idiot! It's me! I am so going to kill you once you change me back!"

"I think it's her," he told the others hopefully.

"She doesn't seem to like you," Max said uncertainly. "Are you sure this is your cat?"

"Where did you pick her up from?" Ron asked.

"The pet shelter in town," Melody replied.

"That's where I dropped her off," Draco said with a smile.

"Wait, you dropped her off? I thought you said you lost her?" Max looked suddenly angry. "You can't abandon a cat then claim it back on a whim!"

"No, you don't understand," Draco babbled quickly. "I didn't know it was her. She doesn't usually ... look like this."

"Well what does she usually look like?" Max challenged.

Hermione stepped around Draco, motioning for him to be quiet. "If I might act on a hunch, Mr...?"

"Lucado."

"Mr Lucado. Do the words '_draco dormiens nunquam titillandus_' mean anything to you?"

He thought for a moment, then spoke. "Yes, that was the motto of my old school." Realisation suddenly dawned on him. "Honey," he said to Melody, "They're wizards! Hogwarts graduates!"

"Yes, we are wizards," Hermione confirmed with a smile. "I guessed from your clothes," she added. "Now, my sister-in-law's boyfriend," she said, pointing to Draco, "woke up yesterday morning to find that his girlfriend was a cat. He didn't recognise her in this form, so he took her to the pet shelter, which I believe is where you adopted this cat."

Max looked thoughtful, yet still a little suspicious. "Prove it."

"Um." Draco looked at the cat in his arms. "Hey Gin, meow if your name is Ginny."

Ginny obliged, if only to prove that she wasn't a cat. She meowed.

"And if you're actually a person, not a cat."

Ginny meowed again.

"That could be a coincidence," said a voice from the hall. One of the triplets stood there, holding a tumbler of juice. "I don't want Ginger to go, she's not a person, she's a cat." His voice was plaintive and pleading, and it almost broke Ginny's heart to have to prove him wrong.

But she had to. She squirmed, and squirmed again when Draco didn't let her go. He put her down, and when she trotted off in the direction of the kitchen, the little boy followed her.

"She's looking at the fridge," he called through to the group of adults who stood in the hall, all confused.

"Do you have letter magents on your fridge, Mr Lucado?" Harry asked. It was the first thing he'd said since the door opened.

They all headed for the kitchen. Harry considerately closed the door behind them. Bagheera was left scratching at the inside of his cat-carrier.

In the kitchen, Ginny was jumping up at the fridge. Harry went over to the fridge and pulled off handfuls of the letters, laying them on the floor next to the frantic cat.

"Point them out, Ginny," he said softly.

Ginny pointed to an 'I' with her paw. Harry picked it up and stuck it to the left of the fridge door. Ginny pointed to an 'A'. Then an 'M'. They continued in this way until a message had been spelled out on the clean white door.

'I am not a cat. I want to be me.'

She had gone for the shortest message she could think of with the shortest words, so that she could get to being human faster.

"Well," Melody said with an accepting tone of voice, "I think that settles it."

"Can I change her back now?" Draco pleaded.

Max gestured him forward. Ron and Hermione joined him in pointing their wands at the cat swishing her tail impatiently on the kitchen floor, and said the spell that would revert her to her previous form.

In a flash of light, Ginny felt her body changing, becoming longer, taller, heavier and much less agile. Her skin felt smooth again, her nose no longer twitched, and she stood upright once more.

Harry was ready with his cloak, which she grabbed the moment the light vanished and she was able to move properly. Everyone had averted their eyes but Draco, while she wrapped it around herself and fastened the buttons. Melody had her hand over her son's eyes. The moment she was fully decent with no possibility of the cloak popping open, she lunged at Draco.

He braced for the attack he was clearly expecting, and received a battery of blows around his head from Ginny's clenched fists. They were only light blows, though, which bounced off his head and messed up his hair. The only thing bruised was his dignity as he cringed in the onslaught of his angry girlfriend. When she stopped he was still hiding behind raised arms.

She stood with her hands on her hips, waiting for him to lower them. When he didn't, she grabbed his hands and pulled them down herself. His surprised face turned to her and she planted a kiss on it.

"Thankyou," she said. Inwardly she rejoiced at having an actual voice again.

"Ginny, I'm -"

"Don't apologise! I'm mad at you." She turned to Hermione and hugged her fiercely. "Thankyou! I'm guessing you found me."

"Draco helped."

"Don't side with him!" Ginny told her, frowning. Hermione smiled. She hugged Ron next, for the effort he'd spent knocking on many doors, and for all the yelling he must have already subjected Draco to, which she was grateful for. Then she turned to Harry. "And thankyou for helping with the magnets." She hugged him closely. He kissed her cheek and she smiled.

She looked down at herself and did a quick twirl.

"I'm human again!" she crowed happily. "Oh, and you two," she remembered, turning to Mr and Mrs Lucado, who were standing watching their reunion with smiles on their faces. "Thankyou for putting up with me."

"No problem, Ginny," Melody said. "We got your name quite close, really, didn't we?"

"What was her name?" Ron asked.

"Ginger," said the little boy. Ginny saw from his button-badge that he was Rupert. He looked very sad. "You were really a girl?"

"I am. That's why I wouldn't eat the cat-food. I don't think there's ever been a vegetarian cat before," she wondered out loud. "I'm going to miss you kids," she said, and it was mostly the truth. They were all quite sweet when they weren't trying to pick her up, and from her current perspective they were adorable. "Oh, and by the way, you were way off when you named Bagheera. He says his real name is Samson."

"Oh," said Melody, looking mildly surprised. "Cats talk?"

"Yep. You said yourself I was a chatterbox."

Draco smirked.

"Don't smirk at me! You no longer have the priviledge to laugh at me, Draco Malfoy!" she snapped, not looking at him.

"Oh, don't be mad, Gin. I'm really sorry! I honestly didn't recognise you, and I'm so, so, so sorry that I gave you away, and I'll never do it again, I promise." He stepped up behind her. Ginny glanced over her shoulder at him, and saw his earnest face surrounded by tousled blond hair.

She made a face. She frowned at herself. Then she stomped her foot in annoyance, turned round and kissed him. He was still as soft and sweet with her as ever. She really had missed him.

Hermione's voice broke them apart. "I hate to be a spoilsport, but there's a kid in the room."

"Sorry," Ginny said. Rupert was giggling behind his hand. Draco was smiling as he put his hand through Ginny's. She squeezed it happily.

"Well, we'd better be going," Ron said stiffly. He glared at Draco, then marched out of the room. Hermione rolled her eyes and followed him.

"Thanks again," Ginny said.

"Thanks for letting me take her home," Draco said with a grin. Ginny gave him a gentle shove.

"Don't think I've forgiven you. You're going to pay for this."

Harry laid a hand flat on each of their backs and pushed them out of the kitchen. Ginny giggled.

As he left the kitchen himself, Harry swept off the hat he always wore now when he went out, and bowed magestically low. Rupert laughed at him, and Harry gave him a friendly grin before flipping the hat back onto his head and striding out after his friends.

"I hope you learned something from this, Malfoy." Ron's tone was stern and angrily parental as they walked down the street towards a secluded area where they could all Disapparate.

"You're going to make an excellent father, Ron," Hermione murmured with a smile.

"Yeah, I did," Draco replied. "Always keep stray cats around until I can find the location of all the people I know."

Ginny poked him in the shoulder with one finger, the nail of which was unusually sharp today.

"Okay, okay. I mean ... things aren't always what they seem?"

"Right."

"And I may not always have the chance to say what I feel as often as I'd like to."

What do you mean?" Ginny asked.

"Gin, I love you."

"I know, Draco, I know. I love you too."

"Do you want me to kick you?" Ron said threateningly to Draco, and he was only half-joking.

Harry pulled a cookie from the pocket of his jeans, which were now visible along with his red sweater, as he was no longer wearing his cloak.

"For goodness sake, Harry, are you producing them?" Draco exclaimed. "Where do you get all these biscuits from?"

"It's magic," Harry replied, eyes twinkling.

"I kinda wish I'd said goodbye to Bagheera while I could still speak cat."

"Bagheera? The other cat?"

"Yeah. He was a creep by human standards, but I guess that's normal for cats. Feline testosterone ... ugh."

"You were hit on by a cat?"

"Several times. It's not that strange, Draco, I was a cat too."

As they rounded a corner, Ron took on a thoughtful look. "Um, 'Mione, what was that you said about a father?"

"I said you're going to make an excellent one," Hermione repeated.

"You mean some day? In the future?"

"...In the future, yes." Hermione smiled, and grinned when Ginny caught her eye. Ginny gasped with laughter, putting her hands over her mouth in shock.

"In the near future, Ron," Harry told him, patting him on the back. His trainers lit up on the damp pavement, sending red and green glows across a shallow puddle.

"Okay, what are you guys on about?"

Harry suddenly jumped round excitedly to face Hermione as he walked.

"I call godfather!"

A/N: I say thankyou again for reviewing, you're all fantastic.


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